Alberta is home to a variety of birds of prey, varying as much in size and shape as they do in how they capture their prey. Falcons perform advanced aerial acrobatics to snatch small birds in mid air. Various owls, hawks and eagles use their keen sense of sight and smell to zone in on small mice and voles in thick grass or heavy snow. Size is of course a factor in how easily birds of prey are spotted in the wild. The Northern Saw-Whet Owl, for example, is roughly the size of a robin, making it difficult to see in the wild. Whereas the larger birds – Bald and Golden Eagles, Swainsons and Red-tailed Hawks, Great Horned and Great Gray Owls – are hard to miss, especially when perched on the fence posts and tree branches.
